Lupus awareness month

Lupus awareness month takes place during October in the UK every year. It is an important opportunity to raise awareness of this disease amongst the public and health professionals, as well as improving the understanding of the impact that lupus can have.

Although it sounds like a creature from Harry Potter, lupus is actually a type of rheumatic and musculoskeletal disease. The word lupus is Latin for wolf. Historically, lupus vulgaris, a severe facial rash rarely seen today, was once thought to resemble a wolf’s bite.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system becomes overactive. It is a chronic disease which affects one or many tissues of the body, including the skin, joints, muscles, blood vessels and brain. Inflammatory and immune responses account for many of the symptoms observed in lupus, as this video from Lupus UK details…

Having witnessed the effects of lupus on my mother, as well as friends I’ve met through my work as a patient insight partner, I know only too well how limiting this condition can be, even though it is mostly invisible to the outside world. We need to do more to raise awareness of this disease in society, which is where Lupus UK and Lupus Europecome in. As well as supporting patients and their families, these organisations have raised the profile of lupus considerably over the last few years. With thanks to World Lupus Day and Lupus Awareness Month, more and more people are learning about this condition, and the impact on the lives of people living with it. Head on over to the Lupus UK Facebook page, where each day, a different fact about lupus will be shared. Please also share the poster below, and do your bit for people living with lupus.

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Simon Stones, BSc (Hons), AMRSB, is a Biomedical Sciences graduate and a doctoral researcher in child and family health. He is a passionate activist and ambassador for young people living with invisible illnesses, inspired and empowered by his own journey with arthritis, fibromyalgia, and inflammatory bowel disease.